


Turnabout

by plain_jane08 (awolfling)



Series: All encompassing [6]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 11:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1345690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awolfling/pseuds/plain_jane08
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>When Steve finally emerges he’s clutching at his stomach like he’s been shot and he’s trying to keep the blood in. Danny knows that feeling well.</i>
</p><p>Written for a prompt that wanted a role-reversal where Steve experiences the kind of thing Danny goes through and Danny is the one taking care of Steve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turnabout

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aries_taurus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aries_taurus/gifts).



> A very happy birthday to Aries_Taurus

It’s not unusual for Danny to wake up alone, Steve already up and doing stuff while Danny struggles to stay awake long enough to actually get out of bed. It is unusual to feel Steve crawl back into bed, tugging the covers around him and shivering.

 

“Babe?” Danny says, turning around to see Steve.

 

Steve looks ashen except for the fever flush high on his cheeks. His thinned lips and scrunched up eyes speak volumes. Steve must be in a lot of pain.

 

“What’s wrong?” Danny asks, pressing the back of his hand to Steve’s forehead. He’s definitely got one hell of a fever.

 

“Stomach,” Steve says through gritted teeth. He then goes even paler and scrambles out of bed and rushes to the bathroom, slamming the door.

 

Frowning, Danny gets up and pulls on a t-shirt. He waits for Steve to come out. It takes a few long minutes and it puts Danny on edge, worrying about him. He wants Steve out where he can see him, find out what’s actually going on and what Danny can do about it. He feels helpless waiting. Steve doesn’t get sick much and even when he is ill he soldiers through it. He hasn’t taken a day of sick leave - besides when he got shot - since Danny and Steve started dating. This is an anomaly. 

 

When Steve finally emerges he’s clutching at his stomach like he’s been shot and he’s trying to keep the blood in. Danny knows that feeling well. Steve collapses back into bed with a wince. Even lying down he holds his body tensely. 

 

“Ok, babe,” Danny says, stroking Steve’s hair, “Status report.”

 

“Stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea,” Steve lists through gritted teeth.

 

“Vomiting?” Danny asks, still petting Steve.

 

“No,” Steve says, and he’s relaxing slightly now, which Danny is glad to see.

 

“Alright,” Danny says, “Let me get you some stuff.”

 

Danny heads downstairs and grabs a bottle of gatorade. Back upstairs he gets an antispasmodic from his stash of meds and sets both on the table next to the bed.

 

“You wanna turn over and take some pills?” Danny asks.

 

“No,” Steve grumbles, holding onto the duvet tightly.

 

“You know I’m an expert in this area,” Danny says with levity, “I know you’re a big bad SEAL, but you don’t need to tough out the pain here, where we have access to modern medicine.”

 

Slowly Steve turns over and with a grimace hauls himself upright. He takes the pill quickly and washes it down with gatorade. Steve drinks half the bottle before putting it back on the table, then scoots down the bed and resumes his previous position on his side, knees inching up towards fetal. 

 

“You’re feeling really rotten, huh?” Danny says with sympathy, rubbing Steve’s arm lightly.

 

“Yeah,” Steve says miserably.

 

“Do you want me to skip work and stay home with you?” Danny asks. There are no pressing cases and if they catch a case Danny can just as easily leave from home for the crime scene as from work.

 

“No,” Steve says.

 

“You sure?” Danny asks, because he’s never seen Steve this out of sorts before. If he’s not even trying to pretend that everything is fine then it’s got to be bad. Danny almost wants to haul Steve to the hospital, but he knows that’s an overreaction.

 

“You always tell me not to stay home when you’re sick,” Steve mumbles. 

 

Danny translates that as ‘I want you to be here because I am a woeful sick person but my ego and misguided sense of independence can’t allow it.’ Danny is sure that if he pushes now Steve will just get more stubborn.

 

“Ok,” Danny says, “I’ll come by at lunch and check on you then.”

 

“Alright,” Steve says, trying to hide his happiness that he won’t be alone all day.

 

Danny gets ready for work and makes sure Steve has everything he might need within arms reach. Steve refuses breakfast, but doesn’t complain when Danny puts another bottle of gatorade next to the bed, which Danny counts as a win. 

 

“Try to keep cool,” Danny says, kissing Steve goodbye. He can feel that Steve still has a fever. Danny’s not sure if Steve can take any other painkillers to reduce his fever now, but judging by the way Steve’s relaxed a bit, Danny thinks the antispasmodic was a better bet.

 

“M’ok, Danno,” Steve says sleepily. His hair is all messed up and his cheeks are flushed. He’s got just the corner of the duvet over his stomach now, his long legs sticking out haphazardly. Danny is pretty sure Steve is the only person in the world who can look cute while sick.

 

+

 

At work Danny tells Chin and Kono that Steve is sick and gets Kono’s chicken soup recipe from her. Steve will have to eat something and Danny hasn’t forgotten how amazing and light on the stomach Kono’s soup is. The day goes quietly and Danny does Steve’s paperwork for him since Danny’s is all up to date. He leaves for lunch early so he can pick up groceries on the way home, making Chin and Kono promise to call him if anything comes up. It’s a Friday, knocking off early when they don’t have a case isn’t uncommon. Kono’s spent plenty of Friday afternoons surfing, and Chin will sometimes go for a ride around the island on his motorbike. Danny doesn’t feel guilty going home to look after Steve.

 

Danny hasn’t shopped for groceries on his own in months and it feels weird walking through the aisles without Steve. Not that Danny minds shopping on his own, but it dawns on him how much he’s come to rely on Steve. There are plenty of times that Steve shops on his own because Danny is having a flare-up. It’s such a simple, everyday exercise and Danny hadn’t even realised until now how much Steve has been picking up Danny’s slack. Danny feels awful about it and he wishes he could promise to do more. The truth is, Danny can’t guarantee when he’ll be well, if he’ll be well. He’s had a bad run of it lately. At least he’s not having a flare-up while Steve’s sick. He can do this now, and Danny’s got to be ok with that. He knows Steve says he doesn’t mind, but the last thing Danny wants is for Steve to grow resentful.

 

At home Dany unpacks the stuff he bought before going upstairs to check on Steve. He finds Steve sprawled out on the bed, covers thrown off and snoring. Smiling, Danny lets Steve sleep and goes back downstairs and starts the soup. It’s thankfully a quick recipe and in half an hour Danny heads back upstairs. Steve’s coming out of the bathroom when Danny gets there, looking bedraggled and pitiful. 

 

“Hey babe,” Danny says with a soft frown. Steve is the epitome of sickness and he looks how Danny feels most days. 

 

“Is it lunchtime already?” Steve asks sleepily.

 

“Yup,” Danny says, “You feel up to some soup? I got Kono’s recipe.”

 

“Yeah, maybe a little,” Steve says, trailing behind Danny as they go downstairs. Danny wouldn’t want to make puppy comparisons out loud, but Steve’s doleful eyes say it all. 

 

Much to Danny’s pleasure, Steve finishes a whole bowl of soup before he’s darting upstairs and Danny hear’s the telltale sign of the bathroom door closing. It’s weird being on this side of things. His heart goes out to Steve, there’s no one more qualified to understand what he’s going through. Danny’s getting a taste of how helpless Steve must feel, and it gives him a whole other reason to hate IBS. 

 

When Danny hears the toilet flush he goes back upstairs and ushers Steve back into bed. He kisses Steve’s forehead as much to check temperature as to give comfort. He’s pleased to find Steve’s fever has gone down a bit. He’s not radiating heat anymore. Steve lets out a sharp gasp as he moves to settle and his hand goes to his stomach. Danny fetches him another painkiller.

 

“Hey,” Danny says when Steve’s taken it, “You’d tell me if you thought this was anything more than a stomach bug, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Steve replies, lying back down, “I’m sure it’s just a bug. Appendicitis has pain higher up than this. Can’t think of anything else it could be.”

 

“The fact that, a) you know that, and b) you are coherent enough to have thought about it, is greatly relieving to me,” Danny says, pulling the duvet over Steve and fussing with it.

 

Danny calls Chin then to see how things are going and Chin assures Danny that he can Kono have everything under control and that Danny should just take the rest of the afternoon. Looking at Steve’s curled up form beneath the duvet, Danny gratefully accepts Chin’s offer. Danny spends the rest of the day doing chores around the house and checking in on Steve, who for his part sleeps most of the day. They have soup again for supper. When they get into bed that night Steve wraps himself around Danny and quickly falls into a deep sleep.

 

The rest of the weekend continues in much the same vein. Steve’s trips to the toilet get less frequent and his fever doesn’t come back. By Sunday night Steve’s regained some of his normal colour and is insisting that he’s fine to go back to work the next day. Lying in bed, Steve rests his head on Danny’s chest.

 

“Hey Danno?” Steve says gently.

 

“Yeah?” Danny responds, trailing his fingers down Steve’s back in unplanned patterns.

 

“These last few days I was thinking, I’ve never had stomach pain like that before, and I was wondering… Is that what it’s always like for you?” Steve says a little haltingly.

 

“It’s kind of hard to compare pain, babe,” Danny hedges.

 

“Just answer the question,” Steve says impatiently.

 

Danny sighs, “Yeah, what you went through, that’s pretty much my life.”

 

“I’m so sorry, babe,” Steve says, sounding so sad.

 

“Hey, let’s not?” Danny says uncomfortably, “I want to just focus on you for once, ok?”

  
  


Steve doesn’t say anything, just tightens his hold on Danny.

 


End file.
